


Dreamons

by bastardoftherealm



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dreamon Hunters, Dreamon!Bad, Happy Ending, The power of friendship, dream is there for two seconds, theres a little angst because fundy messes up but it ends really cute i promise, tubbo gets to be the leader for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27157744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastardoftherealm/pseuds/bastardoftherealm
Summary: Fundy really shouldn't have lied about needing the pit built.
Relationships: BadBoyHalo & Skeppy, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Sapnap, Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch
Comments: 5
Kudos: 122





	Dreamons

Fundy sheltered his eyes from the storm as he headed across the inner buildings, towards the dreamon hunter encampment on the far side of the SMP. The rain was worse than normal today, and Fundy pulled his trench coat around himself to keep the damp out.

The canvas openings of the tents whipped in the wind, the lanterns that illuminated the interior swinging light against the sides. The largest of the tents, the green one at the far side, had two silhouettes cast on the canvas walls, both leaning over the table in the middle.

Fundy approached, throwing back the opening and barreling inside, shedding his coat as he lashed the folds of the door shut. He turned to face his fellow hunters, who both looked as rain soaked and tired as himself. “Hey guys.” 

Tubbo’s hair was stuck to his head, dripping wet, but gave him a nod. “Glad you could make it on such short notice.” Sapnap gave him a wave hello, but was looking intently at the papers on the table.

Fundy grabbed his coat from the ground and began wringing it out, heading over to the campfire at the back of the tent, where two identical coats hung, dripping dry over the flames. “So you’ve caught dreamon activity again?” 

“Yeah,” Tubbo opened his comms with a motion in the air. He pulled his records of chat logs with other members of their community, specifically a few recent ones with Bad. “BBH was reporting some strange activity happening down in the pit around the XP farm.” Bad had been working on the place that was supposed to be the dreamon hunter base of operations for a few weeks, which he’d dubbed the pit. 

Fundy still hadn’t had the heart to tell him that they’d abandoned the idea of doing it underground.

Fundy’s eyebrows raised. “What sort of activity?” 

“A few of the iron doors guarding it were destroyed, and Bad had to put out some fires that spontaneously started on the wood flooring.” 

Fundy leaned over Tubbo’s shoulder, “definitely dreamon activity.” 

“And the storm can’t be a coincidence, right?” Sapnap looked up from the sheets of paper he was pouring over. “The dreamon  _ has _ to be nearby.” 

Tubbo nodded gravely as a flash of lightning reflected off the side of the tent. “We should head out immediately, get geared up, everything should be ordered in that chest.” He motioned to where it sat near the campfire. “And Sapnap, this is your first hunt, you’ll need to stick close to one of us at all times, understood?” 

“Got it,” he replied, already moving to rummage through the pile of things in the chest. 

Tubbo grabbed his still sopping wet coat and pulled it on, reaching up to grab the lantern hanging from the ceiling of the tent. He held it out, untying the rope and holding the flaps together as he waited for the other two to equip their gear. 

The three of them crossed back through the greater Dream SMP, hoods pulled over their heads and weapons tucked away in their inventories to keep the water off. Fundy held out a hand, waving them towards the entrance to the spawner in the ground below. 

He wrenched open the trapdoor with a hand, the rope hanging from it dangling into the pit below. Tubbo grasped it and slid down, Sapnap moving to grab it behind him. A bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of Fundy, and he swore he saw something moving in between the flashes of light, but the rain and the darkness made it too hard to see.

He wrapped his legs around the rope and clambered down, pulling the trapdoor over his head to keep the rain from waterlogging the room below. Fundy slid down the rope, landing in the pool of water with a splash. 

The spawner below was well kept, as it was frequently used by most of the people that inhabited the world around them. Torchlight illuminated the checkered walls, and the only sound was the cacophonous hissing of spiders, whose eyes glinted in the dark, and only did more to set all three of them on edge.

Fundy took in a breath, looking down the hallway to where further torchlight gleamed in the distance, as the whispering wind that wound its way through the tunnels beneath the surface blew through the hair on his ears. The clock in the frame above ticked slowly forward, nothing out of the ordinary there, at least. 

“Let’s go.” He held out his hand as he equipped his crossbow, waiting as the other two did the same, before notching a bolt into place. 

The tunnels were a mess of winding webs and switchbacks, and were nearly impossible to navigate unless you knew them by heart, or had built them yourself. Luckily, Tubbo and Fundy were one of each. 

They reached the end of the main tunnel, where it split into two, one heading to the back entrance to the pit, and one to the front. Down the left, was where the iron doors were supposed to guard, and to the right, a straight shot into oak wood.

Fundy loosened his grip on his crossbow, looking to Tubbo. “Split up?” He suggested. 

“Normally, I think I’d say no.” Tubbo pulled out their dreamon book. “But I think with Sapnap and I heading to the last sighting, and with the pit so close, we should be alright.” 

Fundy nodded, gripping the crossbow a little tighter to his chest. 

“Keep your coms open, and your eyes peeled for anything that might be dreamon activity.” Tubbo gave him a little salute, before he and Sapnap began heading down the hallway away from him. 

Fundy turned around, heading down his own hallway towards where brighter light emanated from the pit. He’d forgotten how massive the room had gotten, how long Bad had really been working on it. 

The dark oak floorboards creaked under his feet as he stepped forward onto them, squinting to try and see deeper into the darkness. There, standing in the middle of the room, was Bad, with his back turned towards Fundy.

“Bad?” He spoke aloud. 

“Fundy?” Bad’s voice was soft, almost dream-like. He turned slowly to face the fox, “when did you get over there?” 

Fundy’s fur stood on end, his heart pounding as he stared into Bad’s eyes. They looked blank, his face slack and expressionless. “Bad, what are you talking about…?”

Bad moved lethargically, his hand swinging into a pointed gesture towards the other side of the room, where the torchlight didn’t quite reach far enough to illuminate. “You were just over there. You were speaking to me...you said-” He heard Bad’s voice break slightly, “you said that you didn’t care about all of the work I’d been putting into this. That you were just using me for nothing, keeping me from-” 

Fundy felt his stomach plunge. “That wasn’t me, that must’ve been-” He felt a cold wave of energy wash over him. “Bad, it’s the dreamon, it’s using your emotions, it’s trying to possess you.” 

“Dreamon.” Bad turned back, eyes sunken and sorrowful. “You keep talking about dreamons, but you’ve never told  _ me _ anything about them. You told me what they’re afraid of, and that they need to be hunted down.” His gaze lifted from the ground to Fundy’s face. Bad’s voice deepened into one that wasn’t his own. “I know what you  _ really _ want. You just want to capture them and use their power, just like you’re doing with ME.” 

It was then that Fundy saw the spectral hand on Bad’s shoulder, as the flames burst up around his head. It was only then Fundy was able to see the destroyed path of blackened dark oak that made its way to where Bad was standing. On a cobblestone slab.

His ears flicked back as he covered his face from the blast of flame. “Bad you have to fight it!” Fundy shouted. “The dreamon’s presence is only making these emotions worse, you need to-”

“What if I don’t want to.” The flames disappeared, and Bad’s voice returned, this time fully his own. “Everyone here treats me like I’m some sort of happy little plaything who’ll go along with all of their plans. I’m done being a pawn. I want to be more. I want  _ power _ .” 

Fundy’s eyes widened, completely frozen in the moment, as he watched Bad place his hand on top of the spectral one that held him in place.

“I give in, freely.” 

Bad had always been an interesting looking creature, a shade, he called himself, whose form was completely made of malleable, molded shadow. His shape was soft, with smooth curving lines that sloped with the grace of darkness. Fundy could barely think quickly enough as he watched his friend tip his head upwards into a scream, his body condensing into a solid void of shadow. 

It lifted into the air, and Fundy watched as it grew black arms with sharp claws, long legs protruded from below as the middle solidified into a torso. A skeletal black tail whipped around from the back, followed by a pair of crooked onyx wings. His face formed finally, a sheer black obsidian surface, with two curved horns bursting up from his forehead. 

The dreamon opened its eyes, two points of roiling embers bursting in tandem. A mouth curved open like an opening fissure, revealing sharp, red hot teeth, and a gaping maw of magma. It lifted a single, clawed hand, and Bad’s clothing on the floor began ripping itself to shreds, before they reformed, floating upwards and landing on the dreamon’s body as crimson-black robes.

The dreamon roared, and flames began racing across the oak wood towards Fundy. He barely had time to think before equipping the iron door that Sam had helped him forge into a shield. 

Fundy slammed the base of it into the ground and hid behind it, peering through the slats to see that the dreamon’s flames had stopped just before they could hit him. 

Fundy lifted the shield up, the crossbow was heavy in his hand, but he was unwilling to use it. “Stay back,” he shouted. “Back dreamon!” 

The creature roared as he got near, snarling at him briefly before lifting its wings and leaping up into the ceiling, using its claws to tear through the ceiling, and out of the room. 

Fundy stared up into the massive hole, his shaking hands putting away the crossbow and pulling up his coms. He was greeted with an empty screen glowing with static. “No, no, no.” Fundy refreshed the dash and tried punching in commands, but there was no use. 

He grabbed a torch off the wall and began heading through the back, into the darkness, hoping he’d be able to catch up with Sapnap and Tubbo there. Fundy stumbled into the tunnel at the back, refreshing his comms screen as he ran.

“Tubbo? Sapnap?” He shouted into the empty tunnels, his voice echoing against the stone to no replies. 

The dreamonic face of what Bad had become...Fundy squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to see it every time he blinked. This was his fault. 

He came to a stop against a dead end, waving the torch around it like might let him further underground. He braced himself against the wall with an arm, his heart pounding, and his throat warm. 

The sound of footsteps echoed behind him, and barely thinking, he equipped his shield and crossbow, aiming into the dark. “Hello?” He shouted down, his voice cracked with fear, “...dreamon?”

“Fundy?” Tubbo’s voice echoed from the other end, the bobbing motion of his lantern, and the slowly growing shadows of both him and Sapnap turning into full figures as their forms came into view. “Why...how did you get down here?” 

Fundy caught his breath, lifting his torch up and heading towards Tubbo. “I saw Bad,” he said softly. 

“And?” Tubbo lifted his eyebrows, the shadows cast on his face made his expression skeletal in the dim light. “What did he say.” 

“I didn’t…” Fundy felt the words grow sour on his tongue. “I didn’t get there in time...the dreamon had already taken him over.” It hurt him to lie to them, but what could he tell them? That he’d watched as Bad let himself get over taken by a dreamon? That he’d done nothing to stop it? 

“Damn,” Tubbo punched the side of his fist into the tunnel wall. “Did you see where he went?” 

“I think it might be better if I showed you.” Fundy brushed past them and headed towards the main chamber of the pit. 

That same wave of fear overtook him as he stepped down onto the charcoal blackened remains of what had been their only protection. In the center of the room was the same cobblestone slab, but there was little trace that anything had been there before. Fundy looked up at the ceiling, where a massive hole clawed away by dreamonic hands sprinkled dirt and rocks onto the ground below. 

“It was on the cobble,” Fundy pointed. “Bad was standing there when I entered, and it wasn’t until he started...changing...that I saw the burnt floor.” 

Tubbo already had his book out, writing in it as he examined the room. “Changing?”

“He became this sort of...blackened creature. His skin turned into obsidian, and he looked, legitimately dreamonic.” 

Sapnap had pulled out a glass bottle, and began breaking off bits of burnt wood, dropping what he could inside. “We’ll need it for analysis later, right?” He looked to Tubbo. 

“Right, good work Sapnap.” 

“So what now?” Fundy asked, looking up at the ceiling.

Tubbo snapped his book shut and narrowed his eyes. “We have to go after it, track it down, wherever its gone.” He turned to look at Fundy. “It might give us a better idea of what it wants.” 

Above them, was the sound of the ground shaking, and Fundy hoped that it was from latent thunder, and not a rampaging dreamon. 

The three made their way out of the ground, and back up to the surface, where the storm had mostly cleared, but the world was still dark, as night swept across the SMP.

A few hundred blocks off, Fundy could see where something had ripped through the ground, leaving a massive hole beneath. Tubbo spotted it a few seconds after he did, and began jogging towards it, checking for signs of the dreamon. 

“I think it’s escaped,” he grumbled as he ran his hand along two defined marks in the ground. Tubbo furrowed his brow as he turned back to Fundy. “Did the dreamon have wings?” 

“It did,” Fundy replied. “And a tail.”

“It’s properly gone then,” Tubbo grumbled. “We’ll have to wait for it to resurface, it could be hundreds of blocks away by now.” He clapped both of his fellow hunters on the back. “It’s late now. Let’s get some sleep, we’ll plan how to capture him tomorrow.” 

Fundy couldn’t help but have the dreading feeling that doing that was a terrible idea. He followed after Tubbo and Sapnap anyway. When they arrived, Fundy offered to take first watch during the night, setting up the campfire as the other two handed him their damp clothes to dry over the fire. 

The wind blew cold that night, but no more rain threatened their camp. Fundy took that as an omen of bad luck for the next day, like the universe was preparing to pelt them with a hellstorm of something awful. 

When he woke Sapnap to take the next shift, he couldn’t manage to fall asleep, no matter how comfortable he tried to make himself, or how many times he forced his eyes shut and his mind empty, Bad’s empty eyes still lingered behind his own. 

Eventually, he heard the sounds of Tubbo rising from his bed, and putting a pot of coffee on over the fire, and when the sun had risen over the horizon, Fundy crawled out of bed and joined him. Tubbo didn’t ask about his wandering mind, and sleepy expression, just simply handed him a cup of coffee and asked if he thought the weather would turn again today. 

Tubbo scratched some notes into his book, muttering aloud under his breath, “cobble, dirt, lapis, that’s what we used the first time.” 

“Eggs too,” Fundy added, “pelted him with eggs during the incantation.” 

“How overtaken was Bad when you saw him?” Tubbo dusted the end of the quill against his lips. “Do you think we could easily get him to cooperate?”

“I uh…” Fundy’s throat tightened, “he was pretty far gone down there. The dreamon seemed like it had complete control over him.” 

“Hmm, fascinating.” Tubbo flipped the page and wrote something else down. “This one seems very unlike the original that was in Dream. I wonder if it changes based on the behavior of the person it overtakes...or perhaps,” he let out an excited gasp, “perhaps it’s mutated.” He nodded to himself, muttering under his breath. “Yeah, yeah, that’s not a bad shout.” 

Fundy sipped his coffee, nodding in agreement, “now the hard part is finding it.” 

“I’m not sure it will be,” Tubbo set down his book and swiped open his comms. “I sent a message to Dream last night, and asked if he had any sort of connection with the dreamon, and he said that he actually must’ve felt it last night when it took over Bad.” 

Fundy raised his eyebrows, “that’s incredible.” 

“He said he can try and guide me to it if we need, but he’s not sure how accurate it’ll be.” Tubbo closed his comms and lifted his head as Sapnap came sleepily out of his tent, blinking at the sunlight. “Now I’ll need you two to build a dreamon altar, the same one we built previously Fundy, along the same axis. Dream and I will find the dreamon and lure it to the altar, and hopefully, we can get it back to normal.” 

“But I thought that didn’t work last time,” Sapnap replied with a yawn.

“That was because the dreamon was fused into Dream, this one was never part of Bad, therefore it never fused to him.” Tubbo nodded, “so it should work, hypothetically. I’m going to call Dream and meet up with him, you two make the altar a little ways from here. We’ll lead the dreamon there, and then trap it in.” 

Tubbo left quickly after packing his inventory, and Fundy watched as he climbed to the top of the mountain in the distance. 

He pulled the necessary materials from the chest in the main tent, and he and Sapnap headed back and forth as they piled their packs full of things. He shaded his eyes as he caught a glimpse of Tubbo at the top of the mountain alone before there was a flash, and another figure stood with him. 

Fundy bit the inside of his lip as he watched the two head down together.  _ He really hoped that this would work _ . 

Sapnap slung his pack over his shoulder and turned to check with Fundy. “Everything alright?” 

He turned with a fake smile, “just wanted to make sure the two of them met up alright.” 

With what Tubbo had said, he hoped that Dream wouldn’t be able to tell that there was something off about the dreamon. 

Fundy pulled up his screen and checked their coordinates, finding the dreamon axis, and leading Sapnap off a little ways to where they could build the altar a good distance from camp, but still within sight of where Dream and Tubbo would hopefully be able to see. He unloaded the dirt and lapis from his pack, and he and Sapnap got to the job of building their altar. 

His comms flashed with a message from Tubbo just as they were finishing, the details of the plan, that Dream had successfully helped him track the dreamon, and that they’d be there soon. Sapnap and Fundy built up the barricades Tubbo had asked for, and stood at the altar waiting for a signal. 

Fundy squinted at the horizon, spying two figures at the top of the mountain running towards them. One in their red and blue trench coat, and the other in an unmistakable signature green. Fundy leapt up, hurrying backwards and pulling the iron door from his inventory. 

“C’mon Sapnap, it’s go time.” 

Sapnap appeared from around the other side of the altar, pulling his own iron door shield onto his arm. The two ran to the barriers built in front of the altar, waiting for Dream and Tubbo to sprint past them. 

He heard the splash of water in the distance, and the sound of wings as a shadow darkened the sky above. More importantly, Fundy heard a voice. 

“You don’t have to run from me,” the voice wasn’t kind like Bad’s normally was, but harsh and sarcastic. It mocked them, and made Fundy’s fur prickle on the back of his neck. 

He popped up to see Dream summon a bow, and shoot two arrows at the dreamon. The creature had begun descending from the sky after them, and threw away the arrows with a swipe of its clawed hand. Tubbo backed up towards the altar, grabbing his crossbow and loading in bolts as Dream gave cover fire. 

The dreamon let out a sigh, and made a swift dismissive motion with its hand, as razor sharp black glass flew towards Dream, who managed to pulls out his shield seconds before it was too late.

“Did you know they could do that?” Dream shouted towards Tubbo. “What the hell  _ is _ this thing?” 

“We have to fall back,” Tubbo yelled back, “c’mon!” He ran through the altar, to which Dream went to protest, only to see that the dreamon was moving to give him a second volley of shots to the chest. 

The dreamon followed after them, snarling with laughter. “Do you really think that a structure is going to stop  _ me _ ?” 

“Fundy, Sapnap, now! Dream, behind me!” Tubbo summoned his iron door shield, as Fundy and Sapnap barreled towards their places. 

Sapnap held up his shield, forcing the dreamon into the altar, as Fundy began grabbing eggs from his pack. The dreamon hissed as the iron doors, snarling as it tried to escape, claws grabbing at the dirt, only to find them impossible to break. 

“ _ What? _ ” 

“Hoed dirt, bitch!” Sapnap shouted, “no escape.” 

“Fundy, on my mark, the eggs.” Tubbo held the iron door on his arm and pulled out his book with the other. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Fundy yelled over the sounds of the dreamon. 

“Dreamon!” Tubbo began his exorcism incantation as Fundy began throwing eggs into the altar. As soon as they hit the dreamon, they exploded into steam, and the creature screamed out in pain. 

“Begone!” Tubbo shouted, “begone forever! Leave this body, be whole, be whole!” 

The dreamon then slumped down, body going slack, but still staying upright. The four of them waited several seconds before Dream finally spoke, first the glint of the arrow notched into his bow, and then the top of his mask poking up from behind the safety of Tubbo’s shield. 

“Is that it?” He asked, “is it gone.” 

“Did you know the removal of a dreamon requires the  _ willingness  _ of at least one of the parties?” Bad’s voice rang out, the one that all of them recognized as their friend. 

“Bad, what are you talking about?” Tubbo stepped forward slightly, just barely lowering his shield. 

“I’m sure Fundy can tell you all about it.” 

Three pairs of eyes flicked onto him, and Fundy felt the very tips of his ears turning pink. “I uh, I don’t know what he’s talking about…” 

“You don’t?” The dreamon turned, “I asked you if you were using me, if you had me do all of the work on the pit and didn’t even want it. If you even cared about me as a friend, and you said  _ nothing _ .” 

The twin flames of his eyes, now only a flickering yellow, not the harsh red, burned more shame into Fundy than anything else that had ever been said to him before. Even when he’d lost his country, betrayed it...when his  _ father _ -

“And that was enough for me to know how you really felt.” Bad’s voice began to switch again, as his eyes roared with flames. Jets of fire erupted from his back like the spines of a dragon, his claws glowing a deep red as he flexed his hand. “Enough to give me the power I  _ needed _ .” 

The dreamon slashed out, ripping Sapnap’s iron door to shreds. It recoiled at the pain, slamming its wings into the pillars making up the altar, letting broken dirt rain down onto all of them as the dreamon lifted itself up into the air. 

It whipped around, mouth agape as it hung, lofted in the sky. A massive torrent of flame fell on them like the crash of a wave. It was once again Dream’s quick thinking that saved them, as he threw up a wall of cobblestone on what remained of the altar. The flames licked around the sides, and Fundy watched as his friend’s faces were illuminated in a terrifying orange hue.

They all waited until the sound of wings disappeared to break the cobble above them. 

Tubbo stood, looking to Fundy, who sank down to the ground. “I think there might be some things about what you witnessed during the possession that you might’ve left out.” 

He let out a breath and began speaking. “Um, well, when I arrived, Bad was already...well acting like he was possessed, and I didn’t know what to do. He started talking about how we didn’t care about what he’d worked so hard to build, and I did feel bad for him-”

“Did you do anything to talk him down?” Sapnap raised an eyebrow.

“I  _ tried _ ,” Fundy protested. His shoulders sank. “Well I...I didn’t really do anything at all useful. I just stood there as the dreamon overtook him. I tried to tell him to fight it...but I failed. I should’ve done more, but I couldn’t, I froze.” 

Tubbo huffed out a sigh, “it would’ve been better to know this earlier, Fundy.”

“I abandoned Bad to a dreamon, when I was supposed to be the hunter with all of the knowledge. Worse than that, I made him think that I didn’t care about him.” Fundy gripped his ears, his eyes clouding as he curled into himself. “I failed him both as a dreamon hunter, and a friend.” 

“You know that’s not true,” he felt a hand on his shoulder. A pale mask appeared in his vision. “I know what it was like to have a dreamon inside me,” Dream spoke, “it’s scary, and it makes all of the good things tiny, and negative things massive.” He helped Fundy up from the ground. “And you only found out about dreamons recently, Tubbo’s the only expert on them anyways, you didn’t know that might happen.”

Tubbo nodded his head to the side, “he isn’t wrong about that.” He gave Fundy a slight smile. “Just next time, you need to tell us everything about a dreamon’s condition.” 

“Poor Bad,” Sapnap looked up to the sky where the dreamon had gone. “I can’t imagine how much pain he must be in right now.” 

Tubbo flipped through the pages of his book. “We need a new plan, something that might tip the scales in Bad’s head to overwhelmingly good, and pop him out of the dreamon’s trance.”

“Why don’t you just do what you did with me?” Dream asked, “you reminded me of a good memory, and that managed to snap me out of it.” He squeezed Fundy’s shoulder appreciatively, which once again made Fundy go red.

“Right, yeah. We just need to find something that makes Bad happier than anything,” Tubbo replied. “Muffins maybe?” 

The clouds above them had begun to darken again, and Dream pulled his hood up. “Another storm’s coming, you all might want to head back to your tent quickly, this one looks like it’s coming in fast.” 

“You’re not staying Dream?” Sapnap asked, “you could be a big help though.” Dream just laughed, and disappeared into a flash of light. Sapnap let out a groan, “why is he LIKE THAT.” 

The three of them hurried back towards the camp as lightning began to flash in the distance, and wind whipped through the trees. The rain was just beginning when they made it to the green tent, they were nearly there when Tubbo held up a hand.

Fundy then saw it, there was light coming from the tent, the shadow of someone inside cast on the wall. He pulled his axe from his belt as Sapnap equipped a bow, and Tubbo, his undamaged shield. 

Together, they threw the flaps of the tent back, aiming their weapons at the figure inside. 

A surprised Skeppy held up his hands, eyes wide. “Hey guys?” The three of them let out sighs of relief as Skeppy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Bad’s been missing, I’ve been asking around, but nobody’s seen him. Someone said that you might know where he’s been.”

Sapnap looked to Fundy, who looked to Tubbo, who pressed his lips together. “He’s been taken over by a dreamon.”

“A what?” 

“A creature that was once a part of Dream that feeds on negative emotions.” Tubbo began pulling out papers from the back chest, and laying them on the table. “It’s weak on its own, but once it gains a host, it becomes immensely powerful.” 

There were sketches on the table done by each of them, including one from Dream himself, from when the dreamon had first appeared. 

Skeppy’s eyes widened, “this thing has  _ Bad _ ?” He shook his head, “well have you tried getting him back?”

“We just did,” Sapnap replied, lifting his shredded iron shield. “Didn’t go very well.”

“Apparently, at least one of the parties in the body, either the host or the dreamon, needs to be willing for an exorcism to work.” Tubbo’s eyes flicked to Fundy. “And apparently Bad wasn’t.” 

“But...why?” Skeppy’s knee began to bounce on the ground. “Bad’s,  _ Bad _ . He’s-” He lifted his hands up in desperation, “Y’know!” 

“Yeah, but he’s not that anymore,” Tubbo gathered up the papers and wrapped them back up in their leather casing. “He’s dangerous and unpredictable.”

“Then how are you planning to get him back?”

Fundy then spoke, “hopefully a massive amount of positive energy. Good memories, that sort of thing.”

Skeppy brightened up, “then bring me with you! I know Bad better than anyone.”

“No way,” Tubbo shook his head. “It’s too dangerous for an untrained person to just run into battle with a dreamon. It takes learning about how to be careful and protect yourself.” 

“Bad’s my best friend,” Skeppy protested, “please let me help. If he’s in trouble and I could’ve done something, I’d feel terrible. I do feel terrible.”

The three dreamon hunters looked to one another. 

“I think we should,” Fundy cleared his throat. “Bad clearly won’t trust me, Skeppy’s our best option.”

“Alright,” Tubbo sighed, going over to the chest and grabbing out a shield. “But if anything happens to him, it’s on you.” 

Night fell as the four began packing up their things for another hunt. Sapnap mended his shield, Tubbo wrote more in his book and fitted Skeppy with some armor, as Fundy stood just outside the tent where the top would shield him from rain. He stared out into the darkness, fidgeting with his hands as he waited for the others. 

The dreamon was out there somewhere, and he just hoped that Skeppy could do something about it. Bring Bad back. Allow him to apologize. 

Lightning flashed in the distance, illuminating a massive shape in the sky, circling above one of the towers in the distance. Fundy swore that it looked like it had gotten bigger. 

Sapnap poked his head out, “ready?” 

Fundy turned back, nodding, “ready.” 

The four of them stood in the rain as Fundy pointed up at the clouds. “Wait for it,” he muttered. Lightning flashed again, and all of them could see the massive shape in the distance. 

“Is it waiting for us?” Sapnap said quietly. 

“I don’t know,” Tubbo replied, “we’ll have to see.” 

They jogged together across the grounds, the rain drenching their clothing and seeping into their boots, another flash of lightning pinpointed them to the empty plains of grass just outside the city limits. 

Fundy had barely taken one step forward from the group when a dark shape swooped down from the clouds, flames bursting from its maw. 

“SHIELDS!” Tubbo shouted, and the three of them stood back to back with Skeppy in the middle, the flames glancing off the edges, but still burning Fundy’s fur where it touched his arm. 

The dreamon landed in the center of the ground, the blocks beneath it shaking from the force of its body. “Are the three of you here to let me feast upon your flesh?” It clenched its clawed hand into a fist, “to burn your bodies to ash, destroy everything that you were?” 

Tubbo was the first to break formation, and Fundy and Sapnap followed, standing in a line as they each summoned their weapons. 

The dreamon let out a laugh, “do you think puny mortal weapons can stop-” For a moment, Fundy watched as the dreamon’s eyes flickered from red to orange to yellow. 

Skeppy raised up from behind them, his chest clad in the stark purple of his armor. “Bad…?” Fundy kept himself from turning to look at him, but he could hear the way Skeppy’s voice broke. 

It faltered for a moment, staring down at the man in complete shock. There was a moment of quiet as Skeppy seemed to take in what was happening. “It’s okay, Bad! I’m here. We're going to help you! You can snap out of this!"

The dreamon’s hand whipped up to cover its own eyes, “what? No!” It cried out in pain, falling to a knee as Fundy watched part of the dreamon’s face crack, revealing the familiar smoky void of Bad’s true form. “They’re using him to,” the dreamon strained, “they’re using both of you.” 

There was a moment as the dreamon began to twitch and seeth, “do you think any of them really care about you?” 

“We all care about you Bad!” Fundy cupped a hand around his mouth. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the base earlier, I...I felt terrible.” 

The dreamon lashed out a clawed hand, sending the sharp glass towards them. Fundy held up his shield and caught it. “LIAR!” It seethed, its body beginning to twitch and bubble. “You’re all lying, they’re all lying, you  _ know _ they’re lying.” 

Fundy heard the sound of Skeppy unequipping his armor, but couldn’t turn in time to stop him as he pushed past their shields and began walking towards the dreamon. “I know you won’t hurt me,” he said gently, his hands out. “You won’t let it hurt me, will you?” 

It attempted to rise into the sky on its wings, but only made it so far before falling back towards the ground. Skeppy approached the dreamon, who moved the slash at him, but the hand stopped just before it could hit him. 

Fundy could see Skeppy’s hands shake as he reached up to touch the hand, pressing his fingertips into it. “You know me. I’m your friend, your Skeppy...am I still your sunshine?”

“S-skeppy.” Bad’s voice rattled in the dreamon’s throat, and Fundy watched as his eyes flickered from red to yellow to white. “The dreamon...it...it has me still. I’m so scared.” 

“I’ll be here. Are you willing to get out of the body?” 

“Yes, I think I am.” 

He turned to look at the hunters, who didn’t need another moment to get into formation. 

“Reckon we can do it here?” Tubbo murmured, “even if it’s not on the axis?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Fundy replied, nodding to Sapnap. 

Together, they began building up the altar around the two of them, as Tubbo began speaking the incantation slowly but surely. 

The dreamon’s body twitched and hissed hot air through its mouth, but its eyes never left Skeppy. Fundy could see the skin of the form being pressed against, as if the dreamon was trying to escape. 

Tubbo began to get the end of the incantation, and snapped his fingers at Fundy, who grabbed the last of the eggs from his inventory. He stood across from Tubbo, and watched as he raised a single finger into the air. 

As soon as the finger lowered, Fundy began tossing the eggs into the center. 

“Skeppy get back!” Tubbo shouted, grabbing the collar of the shirt and tugging him from the altar. 

The dreamon began to rattle and hiss, its body glowing a dark red, to a bright orange, to yellow, and then pure white hot energy. In a single bursting snap, the creature exploded into a wave of warmth, leaving behind a smoky aura, which began to reform into the figure they all recognized. 

Bad appeared before them just the same as they’d last seen him. He opened his eyes and breathed in with a gasp, grappling for something to hold onto to keep him standing. 

Skeppy caught him, as the five of them took a moment to catch their breath. 

“I’m so sorry about all of that,” Bad mumbled softly. “I really don’t know what happened.” 

“Let’s head back to the tents,” Tubbo spoke, “I don’t think the rain’s going to let up anytime soon.” 

They managed to squeeze everyone into the tent together, starting up the fire and drying their clothes the best they could. Tubbo had Bad give him the best statement he could muster, but it was fragmented and in pieces that all lined up in different orders, and often made little sense. 

Eventually, the rain stopped, and they moved outside to better dry everything off. Bad sat warming his hands against the fire as Fundy took a seat next to him.

“Bad…”

“You don’t even have to say anything,” Bad waved his hand dismissively. “I forgive you.”

“I don’t want it to be that easy, though,” Fundy replied, his voice strained. “I used you for free labor all while lying to you. I’m a terrible friend, and a terrible person.” 

“I’ll agree, you were an absolute muffinhead by not telling me.” Bad’s eyes, in their light, lamplit glory, lifted from the flames. “But you didn’t leave me behind in that dreamon. You knew that there would be some part of me that was still  _ me _ .” He nudged Fundy’s shoulder with his elbow. “And it wasn’t just Skeppy that knocked me out of there, what you said did too. A lot actually.” 

“Oh, wow,” Fundy smiled a little. “That’s...good.” 

“You’re a good friend, Fundy, and a better dreamon hunter. Just tell me next time, okay?” 

Fundy gave him a nod, looking into the fire. “I will.” 


End file.
